Who Knew Captain Kirk Had Mommy Issues?!? ‘IMPULSE’ (1974) Blu-ray Review

Grindhouse Releasing is amazing at cleaning up those old classics! Their stellar editions of The Beyond and Cannibal Holocaust are among my favorites. So, my curiosity was definitely piqued when I heard they were releasing Impulse, a seldom seen film from director William Grefe (Mako: The Jaws of Death) starring Star Trek legend William Shatner!

Synopsis

A paranoid, leisure-suit-wearing conman/gigolo named Matt Stone seduces lonely women, bilks them of their savings via an investment scam, then kills them. When he begins seeing an attractive widow, her daughter Tina becomes suspicious of his motives.

Here’s a look at the trailer!

Admit it, you giggled a little bit reading that synopsis, didn’t you? Captain James T. Kirk as a gigolo?!? Well, that ain’t the only giggle inducing thing about Impulse! Matt Stone (Shatner) is a strange guy. Haunted by the memory of skewering his mom’s abusive boyfriend with a samurai sword, Stone ekes out a lavish living by sexing up, and then swindling rich women out of their money. After his latest Sugar Mama mark gets wise to his scheming, Matt impulsively (get it?) kills her in a fit of rage.

Quickly on the hunt for his next meal ticket, a chance encounter with a 10 year old hitchhiker (!), and the wealthy Julia (Ruth Roman; The Baby), and Matt is fixed up with Julia’s bestie, the widowed Ann Moy (Jennifer Bishop; Bigfoot) and her suspicious daughter Tina (Kim Nicholas; Black Sunday) his  pre-teen hitchhiker. Simultaneously romancing Ann, while trying to tempt both her and Julia to sign on for his “investment opportunity” proves too much for poor Matt, and his homicidal urges return after things begin to go South, with Tina seeing through the façade and trying to get someone, anyone, to listen.

Five years removed from his career defining turn on Star Trek, Shatner often, and sometimes unfairly, gets dragged for his dramatic, over-acting from this period. Impulse will do nothing to help that! Grimacing, wild eyed, and over wrought, Shatner’s performance in Impulse is as loud as the wide, polyester patterns of his wardrobe! Subtlety be damned, he romps through every scene in Impulse as if it’s his last, and he needs to enunciate to the back row! Side-by-side with some really solid performances from his cast mates, notably Bishop, it really serves to illustrate just how hard Shatner is going. Nicholas also shines as the precocious Tina, showing a maturity and poise rare for a child actor.

Does Impulse fall into that fabled “so bad its good” category? In short, yes indeed! Crazy, unhinged Shatner bouncing around in huge collars and tight pants, smoking those little cigars, and acting all sexy—how can it not be?? Shot in the Tampa, Florida area, Impulse is a microcosm of 70’s kitsch: blatant disregard for child safety, spongy fabrics, smooth players in garish prints, macrame purses, cropped tops, go-go boots and general grooviness! Impulse also has some very cool visuals too, particularly a great shot of one of Stone’s victims as her car sinks to the bottom of a lake, and of course, Grefe sneaks in a close up of Bishop’s butt, one of his trademarks.

As always, Grindhouse does a fantastic job with this release. Great, “LE feel”, box packaging, great alternate art work, a nice, 4 page booklet featuring a study of the film, a very “velvet Elvis” type postcard of Shatner enjoying a (likely post-coital) smoke. The two blu set contains a 4K scan of the film, that looks better than it has any business looking, in depth interviews with Grefe, a Kingdom of Shatner featurette from 2022, all kinds of archival footage from Grefe, and interviews with the make-up artist and art director on the film. There’s honestly so many extras that I didn’t have time to sift through them! Talk about bang for your buck!!

Loud, obnoxious, and not a little insane, Impulse is a perfect time capsule of a beloved sci-fi icon, finding his legs as he stumbled out of the Star Trek pigeonhole that he may, or may not, have actually deserved to be in. Definitely worth a look, and in this release, it’ll keep you watching long after the film ends! Also, for you conspiracy buffs, the protagonist’s last name is “Moy”, if you add an “Ni” is spells “Nimoy”, the last name os Shatner’s beloved science officer compadre and co-star. Coincidence???

Grindhouse Releasing’s Blu-ray of Impulse is available now from fine retailers everywhere.